LANSING — Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday called on Michiganders to come together urgently to solve two crises she said threaten the state's future — failing roads and other infrastructure, and failing schools.

Whitmer, delivering her first State of the State address at the Capitol, called for bipartisanship and pledged to work with Republican leaders in the Legislature, while at the same time calling them out for what she identified as wasteful spending and sweetheart political deals.

"We have to work together," said Whitmer, an attorney and former lawmaker who took office Jan. 1.

"Michigan’s problems are not partisan problems. Potholes are not political. There is no such thing as Republican or Democratic school kids or drinking water," she said.

"These challenges affect us all," Whitmer said. "They make Michigan a harder place to get ahead. A harder place to raise a family. A harder place to run a business."

At the same time, she blasted lawmakers for allocating $1.3 billion in a supplemental spending bill on the last day of the lame duck session in December — including the awarding of a $10 million grant to a business connected with former Republican Party chairman Bobby Schostak.

She said that as a former lawmaker from East Lansing who spent six years in the state House and eight years in the Senate, she knows how tough it is to "keep the government funded and functioning."

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shakes hands with state Rep. Triston Cole, R-Mancelona, as she greets guests before delivering her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, left, hugs Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist before delivering her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shakes hands with guests as she enters the House chamber before delivering her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, left, greets Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., right, before delivering her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shakes hands with guests as she enters the House chamber before delivering her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, left, hugs Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, right, before Whitmer delivers her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield looks on during Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's husband Marc Mallory and two daughters Sherry and Sydney Shrewsbury clap before Whit delivers her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

David D. Dickson Jr., Chief Sergeant-At Arms, prepares to introduce Gov. Gretchen Whitmer before her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

Many wore buttons in honor of former U.S. Rep. John Dingell, who recently died, for the State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer walks to the rostrum before delivering her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor, center, sits in the crowd for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer 's State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

State Rep. Angela Witwer mingles in the House chamber before Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack looks on on as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal

However, lawmakers shouldn't be "filling potholes instead of building roads," or "pretending that little increases can fix an education crisis," Whitmer said. Nor should they be "playing a shell game with the state budget," while "ignoring the potential of hundreds of millions of dollars from lawsuits against the last administration," and "giving sweetheart deals to political insiders."

Reaction was positive from environmental and education groups, and the president and CEO of the state's most powerful business group, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, also gave her main points a thumbs up.

"When she talks about fixing the damn roads, we're all in," said Rich Studley, who added that his group would be waiting for cost and financing details on both the infrastructure and the schools plans.

But Laura Cox, a former GOP state representative from Livonia who is now a candidate for chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, said she didn't like the "political" comments she felt were "peppered throughout the speech."

"She really didn't give us any plans; she just gave us ideas, and they sound like very expensive ideas," Cox said.

Whitmer said Michigan has the nation's worst roads, which she called a danger to safety, an impediment to economic development and the cause of damage to autos costing the average motorist $562 a year.

And citing the recent Flint drinking water crisis and threats from PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances used in firefighting foam and other substances), Whitmer said the state must also address underground pipes to ensure all Michigan residents have safe drinking water.

Turning to the second crisis she identified — poor education results and a "skills gap" for many Michigan workers — Whitmer called for unspecified increased spending on K-12 education and new programs to help workers get the skills they need to take available jobs.

Michigan's third grade reading scores rank in the bottom 10 in the nation not because the state's kids are less capable or less motivated, or because the state's educators are less dedicated, but because "generations of leadership have failed them," she said.

Whitmer called for:

A new statewide goal of increasing the number of Michiganders between ages 16 and 64 with a post-secondary credential to 60 percent by 2030, up from about 40 percent currently.

A new program, Michigan Reconnect, modeled after a similar program in Tennessee, to train adults needing in-demand skills to get a new job or advance in the ones they already have.

The MI Opportunity Scholarship, guaranteeing two years of debt-free community college for all graduating high school students who qualify. The same scholarship program will provide two years of tuition assistance at a four-year college or university for students who graduate from a Michigan high school with at least a B average.The program is to be launched this spring and available to students in the fall of 2020.

The speech did not detail how much Whitmer's programs would cost or how they would be paid for. Whitmer has said those details will be spelled out in her first state budget, to be delivered March 5.

Whitmer's transportation director, Paul Ajegba, recently told a Senate committee that his agency needs an extra $1.5 billion a year to fix and maintain state trunk lines alone. Using the funding formula set out under Public Act 51 of 1951 -- which divides road money between the Michigan Department of Transportation and local governments -- allocating an extra $1.5 billion for MDOT would require a total extra appropriation of $3.8 billion a year for roads.

Governors' State of the State addresses typically allot a significant block of time to descriptions of what they've accomplished in the past year. The exception, of course, is a governor's first State of the State address.

Whitmer spent a good chunk of her speech detailing significant problems she's identified in state government since taking office -- poor worker morale, clunky and outdated computer systems, and severe budget constraints that limit the state's ability to provide needed service to the public.

Whitmer's immediate predecessor, former Gov. Rick Snyder, prided himself on his "relentless positive action." But even Snyder spent a good chunk of his first State of the State address telling Michiganders what a bad hand he'd inherited from his predecessor, former Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

In his first State of the State in 2011, Gov. Rick Snyder pointed to a raft of state problems that needed to be addressed. He pointed to an "unsustainable financial model," with $54 billion in pension and benefit liabilities, young people leaving school without the education they need to succeed, and an economic climate that left too many people unemployed or underemployed.

"Nobody should get fired because of who they are, or who they love," she said.

And she called for greater government transparency, by extending the Michigan Freedom of Information Act to cover both the governor's office and the Legislature.

She also said she supports legislative plans to reduce Michigan's highest-in-the-nation auto insurance premiums, without providing any details.

In advance of the speech, House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, issued a joint news release setting out what they said were their expectations and top priorities of Whitmer's speech.

Those were: reducing auto insurance rates; fixing roads and drinking water infrastructure while proceeding with a Straits of Mackinac tunnel for the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline; improving the criminal justice system; access to mental health services, and government accountability; and improving education and career readiness.

“These priorities represent some of the items legislators hear about most often talking to people in their local communities," said Chatfield.

"They are also some of the biggest areas where a commitment from the governor to strong reforms can make a real difference in the lives of Michigan residents."

On Wednesday, Whitmer plans a breakfast meeting with business leaders in Grand Rapids, followed by a tour of Grand Rapids Community College.

Contact Paul Egan at 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.